There’s a cost to doing it your way. Not the curated, made-for-LinkedIn version. The actual cost. The missed opportunities. The slower path. The fatigue.
Some people get ahead because they play the game early. They figure out what leaders want to hear and say it. They learn how to be useful to power before they learn how to be right. They network, echo, align. They succeed faster, not always because they’re better, but because they’re willing to adapt before they believe in what they’re adapting to.
I wasn’t. I thought skill would be enough. I thought strong work spoke for itself. I avoided internal politics. I undervalued perception. I resisted playing along when I didn’t agree with the direction. And I paid for that.
The cost shows up in the years it took to get here. It shows up in watching people ten or fifteen years younger hold titles I only recently earned. It shows up in the way leadership sometimes saw me as difficult when I was just direct. It shows up in being right too early, or too often, and not having the influence to make it matter.
It wasn’t principled rebellion. It wasn’t a conscious stand. It was just… me. Trying to do things right. Trying not to bend. And somewhere along the way, that became a pattern I couldn’t undo, even when I saw what it was costing.
There’s no lesson here. No upside to wrap this in. Just the honest truth that choosing not to play the game comes at a price. And by the time you understand how high it is, you’ve already paid it.
